Innovation & Design

Microsoft Perfect Mate for Lionhead

Molyneux said that the domain of the independent developer has become "increasingly challenging." He added that Microsoft "is the perfect partner for Lionhead."

"The environment for independent developers has become very challenging," Molyneux conceded. "The amount of money needed or required to develop a game is absolutely phenomenal. It's often very difficult to persuade publishers to invest when they have internal resources."

He added, "We had other options than Microsoft, but they are the perfect partner for us. We share the same vision about the future of games."

Molyneux has worked for a large publisher in the past. His previous firm Bullfrog, which he co-founded in 1987, was acquired by EA in 1995. However, that experience was not altogether happy for either party, and Molyneux departed Bullfrog in 1997 to form Lionhead. Molyneux feels that the relationship with Microsoft will be much more positive, saying that Bullfrog had grown too rapidly during its tenure as an EA subsidiary. In contrast, Lionhead is "the perfect size that it needs to be."